nick beake. james landale is with me now. as i james landale is with me now.ale is so different. particularly for the americans, it is estimated 16,000 americans, it is estimated 16,000 american nationals are there and also not being evacuated at the moment because the numbers are so large. the problem is this, the country is incredibly dangerous at the moment. if the british government were to say to british nationals go to these locations, the assembly points, so we can try and evacuate from there. how do you ensure the security of those people on the route? how do you stop them being attacked? how do you stop hostages being taken on route there? the british foreign office minister andrew mitchell this morning pointed out that over the weekend two turkish assembly points over the weekend were attacked with explosions. so that's the first point. once you are actually at these muster points, how are you going to evacuate people from there? where are you going to take them? there is an airstrip north of khartoum where some aircraft landing, but at the moment it

james landale, bbc news, in southern ukraine. new york city has appointed its first "rat czar".stimated two million rats by tackling litter and food waste and using new products to exterminate the rodents. ms corradi said rats were a symptom of broader problems facing new york — including sanitation, health and housing. let's turn now to the developing story in france, where hundreds of thousands of protesters are gathering on what is the 12th day of nationwide strikes against pension reforms. the constitutional council is expected to rule on the legality of the draft pensions law which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. security is on high alert across several cities as over 250 protests are happening throughout the country. pictures there of the process happening on the streets of paris, as they are happening on the streets of many other cities across france. the 12th day of protests to do with pension reforms. a very significant day potentially tomorrow, when the constitutional court is due to decide on the legality of president macron�*s plans. we will bring you a

that was james landale.but his wife meghan will stay at home in california with the couple�*s children. it will be the first time that the duke of sussex has been seen with the royal family since his memoir was published. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell reports. they�*ve kept the royal family waiting but, finally, harry and meghan have replied to the palace�*s invitation. harry will be coming to the coronation but meghan will not. she�*s remaining in california for their son archie�*s fourth birthday. it means harry will have to face his family alone — a family that he hasn�*t seen since the state funeral of the late queen elizabeth last september. and relations, which weren�*t terribly good then, have taken a turn for the worse in the months since. first, there was the netflix series in which harry and meghan set out their version of why they�*d felt driven out by a hostile media and an unfeeling family. we know the full truth. the institution has the full truth. and then there was harry�*s book,

james landale, bbc news in southern ukraine.w that there was no growth in february after expanding injanuary, according to the office for national statistics. analysts had expected gdp to grow by 0.1% but growth in construction was offset by falls in the service sector. gross domestic product measures all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in an economy, and helps government decide how much it can spend on public services and how much it needs to raise in taxes. well, the uk's gdp figures out — and show a mixed picture. here's theo leggett. good morning. absolutely. it is a mixed picture. we have to be a bit careful with monthly figures because they are a snapshot of a fairly short period of time but the figures for february do as you say showed zero growth in february. that is flatlining pretty much. now, this is an estimate but it is lower than people thought it would be. but you have to offset that against what happened the previous month. if we go back to january, the initial estimate in january was of go

james landale, bbc news, in southern ukraine.ervice, has written to the health secretary, calling for the conciliation service acas to become involved in talks to try to end the strike byjunior doctors in england. they are currently on the third of four days of industrial action in a dispute about pay. our health editor hugh pym is here. so potentially the involvement of acas, could this move things forward? ~ , , , ., forward? well, possibly. there is a little bit of inching _ forward? well, possibly. there is a little bit of inching towards - forward? well, possibly. there is a little bit of inching towards the i little bit of inching towards the point where you might have a scenario where the conciliation service acas guess both sides in this dispute, the government and the british medical association representing the junior doctors, into the same room to talk about the possibility of how they might move forward. but it's only a tiny little move in that direction. what has happened is is the bma have said they would happily go

james landale, bbc news in southern ukraine.se aircraft are not going to change the balance of the water in ukraine. there is only a couple, a third likely to be on the way shortly. they are certainly not the fixed wing war planes that ukraine has asked of western allies. what struck me and our team when we were there is that when we spoke to ukrainian crew and pilots, they were incredibly passionate about these aircraft and would certainly like to get their hands on more. japan says north korea's latest missile test is outrageous and unacceptable after it fired a suspected medium or long—range ballistic missile into the sea of japan. it prompted the japanese government to tell residents on the island of hokkaido to seek shelter — but the missile splashed down outside its territorial waters. jean makenzie has more from seoul. north korea has launched a suspected long—range missile this morning, potentially an intercontinental ballistic missile. so these are the missiles that can, in theory, reach all the way to the us mainland.

james landale there, our diplomatic correspondent, with the options being discussed.retary, steve barclay, has confirmed he'll go to the high court to try to limit strike action by the royal college of nursing across england next week. the union has called a 48—hour strike from sunday evening to tuesday evening. the union has accused the government of a bullying approach. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, is with me. 0n on what basis is the government considering court action? the royal colleae of considering court action? the royal college of nursing _ considering court action? the royal college of nursing turned _ considering court action? the royal college of nursing turned down - considering court action? the royal college of nursing turned down the j college of nursing turned down the government's payoff in england then called this escalated 48 our action beginning this sunday, april 30, going through until may the 2nd. but nhs employers looking at the fine print of the announcement came to its conclusion that actually the mandate, six months after a ballot, would run

our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, has more.an opportunity to fight one of the two sea king helicopters that the uk has given to ukraine. it was while i was up given to ukraine. it was while i was up when the air that itjust struck mejust up when the air that itjust struck me just how long these aircraft have beenin me just how long these aircraft have been in service. i did a bit of digging around to try to discover what had happened to this aircraft over the years, and discovered that one of them had this rather extraordinary back history. for years, this helicopter served the british navy. but now it's flying new colours. one of two sea kings the uk has given ukraine. an iconic british aircraft — here to fetch and carry, to rescue and reconnoitre. we joined the crew on patrol in the skies of southern ukraine. this aircraft is not new. it can't fire any missiles, but it can play a key role moving troops and kit to where they need to be on the battlefield. it does it with some style. it's also being used to evacuate casualties

here is our diplomatic correspondent, james landale.hese are the first images of the evacuation beginning, british forces gathering in cyprus, ready to fly out to sudan. planes that will luck may return full of british nationals who have been trapped by the fighting for days. this was khartoum in the early hours. a power cut accompanying the start of the ceasefire. 0ne cut accompanying the start of the ceasefire. one that is supposed to last for three days. by dawn, people were gathering to try to find buses, hoping to use the pause in fighting to get #0u9 of town. advice that has been given to some british nationals. been given to some british nationals-_ been given to some british nationals. �* , ., ., nationals. i'm pleased that a ceasefire _ nationals. i'm pleased that a ceasefire has _ nationals. i'm pleased that a ceasefire has been _ nationals. i'm pleased that al ceasefire has been announced nationals. i'm pleased that a - ceasefire has been announced by the leadership of the factions op the ground and we are initiating an evacu

evacuate only embassy staff and their families over the weekend. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landalenks, fiona. so, what is the situation regarding uk nationals caught up in this crisis? well, its estimated there are at least 4,000 britons in sudan which is, of course, a former british colony. that is far fewer than the united states which has 16,000 nationals in sudan. but it is far more than many european and other countries which have, or had, just a few hundred nationals there. it is the difference in those numbers that are shaping the different responses. the logistic troblem different responses. the logistic problem will _ different responses. the logistic problem will be _ different responses. the logistic problem will be finding - different responses. the logistic problem will be finding a - different responses. the logistic problem will be finding a way i different responses. the logistic| problem will be finding a way to, different responses. the logistic. problem will be finding a way to, if you organise an evacuation, gather these people safely in a location where they co

here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale.is the situation regarding uk nationals caught up in this crisis? well, it's estimated there are at least 4,000 britons in sudan which is, of course, a former british colony. that is far fewer than the united states, which has 16,000 nationals in sudan, but it's far more than many european and other countries which have, or had, just a few hundred nationals there. it is the difference in those numbers that are shaping the different responses. the logistic problem will be finding a way to, if you organise an evacuation, gather these people safely in a location where they could be transported to the filtration point. this is the big logistic problem. people say, "look at the italians, greeks and others." these small numbers. so what are the ways of getting out of sudan? well, some foreign nationals are being evacuated by air. they have got on buses in khartoum and been driven 20 miles north to a small air base at wadi seidna. from there, they have been flown largely to djibouti. others a

children, people who are elderly and those with medical conditions. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale are the first images of the evacuation beginning. british forces gathering at the uk air base in cyprus ready to fly out in raf planes to sudan, planes that with luck may return full of british nationals who have been trapped for days by the fighting. this was khartoum in the early hours of this morning, a power cut accompanying the start of the ceasefire, one that is meant to last for the next three days. by dawn people were gathering to try to find buses, hoping to use the pause in the fighting to get out of town, advice that is now being given to some british nationals for whom an evacuation has finally begun. i am very pleased that a ceasefire has been — i am very pleased that a ceasefire has been announced by the leadership of the _ has been announced by the leadership of the factions on the ground and therefore — of the factions on the ground and therefore we are initiating an evacuation plan. it is important to remember— evacuation plan. it is important to remember that ceasefi

flight is expected to land in cyprus in the next 20 minutes or so. 0ur diplomatic correspondentjames landaleetary what's the latest on the rescue operation? the first thing is the sheer uncertainty of it. if you talk to ministers and officials, they simply cannot tell you how long it is going to take. the prime minister was very clear, saying the situation on the ground is complex and volatile, and he said he could give no guarantee of the safety of this air operation for any period of time. it is also clear that communications are extremely poor. we know that because the government began the day by sending individual invitations to britons to come to the airport on an individual basis. there was no guarantee, however, that all those messages were getting through, so that's why the government shift in policy during the day to make it a broad, general invitation once they knew that the airfield was secure and ready to receive them. there is also, you know, the scale of this. one flight is in the air, two more 0ne flight is in the air, two more expected overnight, another in the morning. these

our diplomatic correspondent james landale has more.olours. one of two sea kings the uk has given ukraine. an iconic british aircraft — here to fetch and carry, to rescue and reconnoiter. we joined the crew on patrol in the skies of southern ukraine. this aircraft is not new. it can't fire any missiles, but it can play a key role moving troops and kit to where they need to be on the battlefield. it does it with some style. it's also been used to evacuate casualties and rescue pilots, who've ejected behind enemy lines — a matter close to the crew's heart. translation: i like this helicopter because it's incredibly _ good for flying. it's one of the best for combat operations, whether transporting equipment or carrying out search and rescue. it's easy to fly, even in difficult conditions. these pictures are from the second helicopter britain's given and its pilots were not even born when it first saw combat in another conflict that began with an illegal invasion. for this aircraft is more than a0 years old and looked like this in the falk